Evaluation of a Region-Wide Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program : A Pilot Cohort Study.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Trauma Surgery
• Criminology

Background:

• Violent injury survivors face a high risk of revictimization.
• The Life Outside of Violence (LOV) program is a pioneering multisystem, region-wide hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP) in the United States, based in the St. Louis area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the pilot phase of the LOV program.
• To evaluate the rate of violent reinjury within one year among LOV participants compared to a matched control group.

Main Methods:

• A pilot observational cohort study was conducted.
• Data were extracted from a multisystem data repository of violent injury visits across four Level 1 trauma hospitals.
• Eligible patients were matched using propensity score matching between LOV participants and non-enrolled controls.

Main Results:

• Out of 3744 eligible patients, 233 enrolled in LOV.
• Among 198 LOV participants matched with 388 controls, the 1-year probability of reinjury was 7.6% for participants and 7.4% for controls.
• Kaplan-Meier estimates showed no statistically significant difference in reinjury rates between the groups.

Conclusions:

• This pilot study has limitations in precisely estimating the efficacy of the LOV intervention.
• The findings suggest that the pervasive environmental risks faced by patients may not be fully mitigated by individual-level interventions alone.
• Further research is needed to explore broader strategies for preventing violent reinjury.